ngzcaz
ArboristSite Operative
So what have we learned ??
1. The contraption for the change of the water coil sucks. I just took mine off to see what was in and it was a nightmare.. dust, insulation sticking to the slide, nothing to keep that junk from falling in your water supply and gumming up the works when you remove the slide. And don't forget to take a look at your chimney from the inside when you have the slide off.. Rusty for sure which will fall in the water eventually. I had my water treated from Water Solutions that was recommended by the manufacturer. Good thing the chimney's thick.
Bottom line..if you can seal the slide, do it and forget it. Add chemicals from the overflow pipe.
2. Insulation rules................. anywhere you can. Don't forget to go all the way up the chimney to the roof to help prevent the chimney from clogging up from creosote as well as keeping the heat in the firebox. Some have been adamant about insulating the bottom of the boiler as well. Makes sense..
3. Change the thermostat to anything else. Which I regret to say haven't done to date.
4. My door loosened up to the point where I added a shim to close it tightly. There doesn't seem to be a factory adjustment. I also had to redo the silicone door gasket. If you have to redo the gasket, cut some wax paper a little bigger than the width of the silicone and apply it after you put the silicone in the crevice on the door. Then shut the door to get a perfect seal. The wax paper allows you to open the door after the silicone solidifies.
5. At least for me, the ashes kind of piled up on the sides of the unit. This actually insulated the unit and only allowed heat to go to the very top of the OWB instead of heat transference to the sides where it might help a bit more. Seems this should be rounded more so the ashes slide toward the grates. If I wanted to shovel ashes I would have bought a CB ( no offense )
It did work all winter.. no oil, just a little more electric for the pump. Seems like Big Oil wants us to shut them down and burn oil again. At a little over $ 2.00 a gallon its tempting.. but I have a sizable investment to get back. A test burn or two in the near future and hopefully an uneventful heating season for 2010.
How about sharing your thoughts on last season ??
1. The contraption for the change of the water coil sucks. I just took mine off to see what was in and it was a nightmare.. dust, insulation sticking to the slide, nothing to keep that junk from falling in your water supply and gumming up the works when you remove the slide. And don't forget to take a look at your chimney from the inside when you have the slide off.. Rusty for sure which will fall in the water eventually. I had my water treated from Water Solutions that was recommended by the manufacturer. Good thing the chimney's thick.
Bottom line..if you can seal the slide, do it and forget it. Add chemicals from the overflow pipe.
2. Insulation rules................. anywhere you can. Don't forget to go all the way up the chimney to the roof to help prevent the chimney from clogging up from creosote as well as keeping the heat in the firebox. Some have been adamant about insulating the bottom of the boiler as well. Makes sense..
3. Change the thermostat to anything else. Which I regret to say haven't done to date.
4. My door loosened up to the point where I added a shim to close it tightly. There doesn't seem to be a factory adjustment. I also had to redo the silicone door gasket. If you have to redo the gasket, cut some wax paper a little bigger than the width of the silicone and apply it after you put the silicone in the crevice on the door. Then shut the door to get a perfect seal. The wax paper allows you to open the door after the silicone solidifies.
5. At least for me, the ashes kind of piled up on the sides of the unit. This actually insulated the unit and only allowed heat to go to the very top of the OWB instead of heat transference to the sides where it might help a bit more. Seems this should be rounded more so the ashes slide toward the grates. If I wanted to shovel ashes I would have bought a CB ( no offense )
It did work all winter.. no oil, just a little more electric for the pump. Seems like Big Oil wants us to shut them down and burn oil again. At a little over $ 2.00 a gallon its tempting.. but I have a sizable investment to get back. A test burn or two in the near future and hopefully an uneventful heating season for 2010.
How about sharing your thoughts on last season ??